Forum Aix-Marseille: Metro areas are driving the economic transition in France

Decarbonisation and the health sector will be two key subjects at the 2024 Forum Aix-Marseille

The 3rd edition of the Forum Aix-Marseille economic conference will take place on September 25, 2024, at the Palais de la Bourse in Marseille. International companies with operations in France are invited to participate in this event, which will address the essential role regional metro areas are playing in the country’s economic transitions.

Provence Promotion organises the Forum Aix-Marseille within the context of its influence program that it runs with the Port of Marseille Fos, the Marseille Provence Airport, and the Euroméditerranée public development project. The form is held in partnership with the international business consultancy DZA, which organises the national Cercle des Etats de la France economic conference in Paris. This year, the Forum Aix-Marsille is sponsored by the American group Ecolab* and will feature two round tables, one on French sovereignty in the healthcare sector and the other on the green transition of metro economies. Business leaders and experts from top companies and organisations (Pfizer, the APHM public university hospital network, ITER, the Apollo Global Management investment fund, etc.) will contribute to the discussions.

The Forum Aix-Marseille was launched in 2022 to serve as a platform for international companies based in the territory to discuss the economic advantages and opportunities of France in general and the Aix-Marseille-Provence metro area in particular.

This year’s forum will examine the economic transitions in healthcare and decarbonisation. These issues will be discussed in the context of the vast range of innovative projects being implemented in French metro areas outside of Paris that aim to build a new, more sovereign, and more sustainable economy.

The Forum Aix-Marseille will open with a presentation of the EY’s Attractiveness Survey 2024, which ranks France as the top country in Europe in terms of foreign investment appeal for the fifth year running.

An economically sovereign France at the forefront of health research

The first round table will explore France’s healthcare sector and the opportunities it offers as the country seeks to increase its economic sovereignty. One key subject will be the government’s recent creation of a biocluster system to spur innovation and there will be a focus on the Marseille Immunology Biocluster, which will build on on Aix-Marseille’s long-standing expertise in immunology and received a €97 million investment as one of the five official national bioclusters.

How can a multinational company contribute to French sovereignty in healthcare? Is this biocluster strategy relevant and credible on a global scale? What conditions are needed to ensure its success? Finally, can the official bioclusters contribute to France’s economic sovereignty?

These issues will be discussed by a panel of experts, including Luca Mollo (Vice President and Medical Director at Pfizer France), François Crémieux (Director General of the APHM public university hospital network), Olivier Guitard (Managing Director for Southern Europe at Sartorius), and Olivier Oreistein (Executive Sales Director of GE Healthcare).

The green transition integrated into France’s economic model

Accelerating the green transition has become a major priority for businesses and regions. With this in mind, the second round table will look at the environmental aspects of investments for the future. What is a sensible and sustainable model for ensuring the green transitions of metro area economies? How can these transitions be financed? In this context, round table participants will discuss the official low-carbon industrial zones (ZIBaC) the French government has created to define and implement decarbonisation strategies for industry and transport.

Thierry Troudet, Managing Director for Ecolab France, a global leader in sustainability solutions that offers specific services for water resources, will evoke the importance of optimising production systems. “Water is at the heart of our industrial decarbonisation challenge. In the most energy-intensive processes, such as electricity generation, petrochemicals, and metallurgy, water plays a key role as a vector for transferring energy thanks to its exceptional thermal capacity.”

Energy issues will also be at the heart of this round table, which will welcome Alain Bécoulet (Deputy Director General of ITER), Jean-Michel Mercier, (President of Infineum France), and Jean-Luc Allavena (Partner at Apollo Global Management).

As with previous editions, the discussions at this year’s Forum Aix-Marseille will lead to recommendations aimed at enhancing France’s attractiveness as a location for business and investment. These proposals will be compiled in a strategic report that will be sent to the French government via the Cercle des Etats de la France economic conference.

* Ecolab is a global leader in sustainability, providing water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services that protect people and essential resources. Based in the United States, Ecolab is present in 170 countries and benefits from over one hundred years of innovation that have resulted in more than 11 000 active patents. In France, Ecolab has three production and R&D sites and more than 2000 employees.